U.S. Ready to Race at World Rowing Cup Varese, July 13

The United States Senior and Para National Teams will begin racing at the World Rowing Cup in Varese, Italy, this Friday, June 13. 

Racing kicks off on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. EST) with heats for all boat classes starting with the PR1 women’s single sculls, and continuing later in the day with the quarterfinals for the men’s single sculls. The United States has 14 entries; almost all our athletes will race twice at this regatta. Eight Olympians, two Paralympians, and three Olympic and Paralympic alternates are returning to the world’s stage to compete, while eleven others are making their first senior team appearance.

Jacob Plihal is back in the single sculls after placing 13th at the Paris Olympics, the best an American has done since 2008. Andrew Mangan is also racing in the PR1 Men’s single sculls, looking to best his seventh-place finish at last year’s World Rowing Cup II.

"Can't wait to race in Varese. It's always special putting on the crest, and we're looking forward to seeing how we stack up against some great crews early in the season," says Olympic alternate Gus Rodriguez. Rodriguez is racing in the men’s pair with Josh Diggons, who is making his first senior team appearance after winning gold in the men’s four with coxswain last year at the U23 World Championships.

Athletes in the women’s fours are also excited to show off their skills on the world’s stage. Olympian Teal Cohen said, “We’re super excited to race. There is some great competition here, and racing gives us the opportunity to elevate our team to the next level.” The United States has two women’s fours entries, which will later come together to make up the women’s eight with Olympic Nina Castagna coxing.

The women’s eight should prove to be a tough race, with four of the six countries racing finishing in the grand finals at the Olympics. All the competitors have relatively young squads with new lineups, so it should be exciting to see how the countries stack up against each other in the new season.

In the PR3 mixed four with coxswain, Paralympic silver medalists Emelie Eldracher and Ben Washburne lead the crew with new additions Max Allemeier, Annabelle Miller, and Sarah Menefee. 

Finally, both men’s double sculls entries, the women’s double sculls entry, and the women’s pair entry will combine to make the mixed eight with Nina Castagna. This is a test race and will not count towards the total points trophy. All athletes racing in the event will compete in another race. 

Semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday. All races can be tracked live here, and video streaming will be available on Saturday, beginning with the semifinals. A detailed racing schedule can be found here.